


A Small Domesticated Carnivorous Mammal

by In_love_with_writing002



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Shelter, Animal Shelter Employee Geralt, Breaking and Entering, Crime, Enemies to Lovers, Farm Boy Geralt, Fluff and Humor, Geralt doesn’t know how to communicate, M/M, Management Worker Jaskier, Modern AU, Roach The Cat, Sort Of, Understanding Jaskier, anxious geralt, so he commits crimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26400760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_love_with_writing002/pseuds/In_love_with_writing002
Summary: When a man in a garish suit comes in saying he’s looking to adopt a cat, of course he wants Geralt’s favorite cat that he practically raised from kitten hood.Geralt hates him immediately.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Roach, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion, Jaskier | Dandelion & Roach
Comments: 12
Kudos: 81





	A Small Domesticated Carnivorous Mammal

**Author's Note:**

> I am once again blaming Kell on my Discord Server for this. We were chatting about Geralt not being able to pet cats in TW3 And it... somehow... got here?

Geralt works at an animal shelter.

He _adores_ all the animals— he grew up on a farm and often the animals in crisis find their way to Vesemir eventually. He especially loves this cat—

A little brown girl he named Roach. He found her as a kitten by a stream, malnourished and small, trying to catch a fish. (This is how she got the name.)

Geralt practically raises Roach. He weans her off of milk, teaches her to use a litter box, teaches her how to use her meow to get attention and ask for something. He talks to her as well— she understands a lot of human words. Mostly the ones when they’re talking about her, but she’s a very smart kitty.

So when a man in a garish suit comes in saying he’s looking to adopt a cat, of course he wants her.

Geralt hates him immediately. He wants to take the stupid patterned tie and shove it down his throat, rip his pretty blue eyes out and feed them to a crow.

He doesn’t want to give up Roach.

But he does, because she and the man love each other as soon as they meet.

He cries in the break room when he leaves with her purring in his arms.

—  
  


But— they couldn’t have been as close as he thought, right? It was him seeing things— the way her tail and whiskers had been so relaxed was a sign of distress, right? Her big round pupils when he had played with her were her hunting instincts— she wanted to hunt him, clearly.

So it’s entirely reasonable, he tells himself, when he slides the window of the stranger’s house open late at night, sneaks in, and starts looking for her to check on her.

He’d gotten the address from Roach’s adoption forms— it’s a shocking amount of information people put in the paperwork.

He practically collapses with relief when he hears her chirp at him, but he shushes her, looking nervously around— this was definitely illegal— and still, Roach starts winding around his ankles like she always does, meows at him in the tone that means she wants to show him something.

“Okay, but quietly,” he says, and follows her on tiptoe around the house, and she takes him to where her food bowl is, her water bowl, two different litter boxes, and a toy that must be filled with catnip, with the way she drools and rubs up on it, batting at it playfully and making little crinkling sounds. Geralt’s heart melts, and he sits down, teasing her with the toy until she’s hopping around, chirping excitedly, and he’s forgotten where he is because he’s just so happy to be with her—

“Who the fuck are you?” Asks a voice at the same time a light flicks on. “Wait a second,”

“It’s not what you think-“

“You’re… the guy from the animal shelter?”

“I’m not stealing I _swear_ -“

“You’re-“

_Murrow!_

“Not now Roach,” Geralt says quickly. “I have to- I should, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking, I just-“

“You wanted to see her, didn’t you?”

Geralt looks wide-eyed at the guy, those startling blue eyes, looking so much more personable outside of the cooperate suit. Geralt had recognized the last name on the forms— Pankratz. They were the owners of the big fancy hardware store in town. Geralt would be in _so much fucking trouble._

“I just wanted to see her, that’s _all_ ,” Geralt says quickly, heart pounding in his ears. “She’s the only thing I ever did right.”

Mr. Pankratz is looking at him with a fond smile. “I know a dedicated man when I see one,” he says. “It’s late.”

“I know,” Geralt says nervously.

“Nearly two in the morning.”

“I know.”

The man runs his hands through his hair, messing it up. Geralt winces when he sees his hands lift, still nervous about being caught. He doesn’t think he’s going to call the police, but Geralt needs to apologize, find a way to get an honest forgiveness from him. “Look,” the man says.

Geralt is looking.

“I admit that adopting a cat might have been an… impulse choice. I might even admit that I don’t know much about the animal, despite having grown up with several of them in my family home.” He’s lying. Geralt Can tell.

“And you seem… like a guy who knows his stuff. His dry food from his wet food, and you know what she likes most, right?”

Geralt nods.

“Well.” the guy looks down at his hand, picking at his nails. “I think it’s only right to get… professional advice… when handling an animal, right?”

Geralt nods again.

“And you _are_ a professional…. right?”

Another nod.

“And Roach, well, such a fancy feline,” the guy chuckles. “She _must_ be a very picky kitty…”

“Right,” Geralt finishes for him. The guy grins.

“I’m off work at three o’clock. Maybe you can swing past and start what will _clearly_ be a _very_ long process of getting to know my new cat.” Hope stirs in Geralt’s chest at the same time Roach crawls into his lap. “Could take weeks.”

“Or months,” Geralt adds. “Or-“

“Years, hmm,” the guy finishes, looking over Geralt’s hunched figure. Geralt can feel a smile beginning on his face, and it has everything to do with the way he is looking very seriously off to the side and nodding slowly. “Well, as I mentioned, it’s late.”

“Very,” Geralt says.

“Did you drive here?”

“Walked here from work,” Geralt mutters. The guy nearly snorts, then covers his mouth to hold in a laugh.

“Well, if you don’t live far, you can see yourself out,” Jaskier said. “But I happen to have a couch, that Roach seems to like a lot, if you happened to not leave for the evening.”

“Thank you,” Geralt says, because he really doesn’t want to leave Roach.

“Sure.” the guy waves, pushing himself off of the wall and taking a few steps closer. “Did you happen to get my name off of those papers as well?”

“Would you be angry if I said no?”

He bends down chuckling, sitting beside Geralt. He touches their thighs together when Roach stretches out over them, purring loudly when the guy starts rubbing between her ears. “It’s Jaskier,” he says, unprompted.

“I’m Geralt,” Geralt replies. Roach looks tired, Geralt notes. “And you’re stuck there if you don’t move soon. She’s about to fall asleep.”

Jaskier doesn’t get up.

“I’ll consider that my first lesson.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, find me on Tumblr. [In-love-with-writing002](https://in-love-with-writing002.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Tags update with the chapters.


End file.
